A Group of Near Eastern Lapis Lazuli Cylinder Seals, 2nd-1st Millennium BCE, 75V

Comprising eighteen cylinder seals carved from blue to grey-blue lapis lazuli, many with areas of calcite mottling and surface accretion consistent with age. The seals are cylindrical in form, with flat or slightly rounded ends, and several retain central perforations for suspension or mounting. The surfaces are engraved in intaglio with schematic figural, vegetal, and linear motifs, including standing figures, stylized garments, vertical striations, and abstracted symbols, arranged in continuous registers intended for rolling impressions. Carving is generally shallow, with simplified outlines and repeated compositional elements rather than finely modeled detail. Cylinder seals of this type were widely used across Mesopotamia and adjacent regions as personal identifiers and administrative tools, functioning to mark ownership and authenticate documents. Comparable examples are represented in museum collections of Near Eastern glyptic art, spanning the late Bronze Age through the early Iron Age. Height 2-3.4 cm (3/4-1 3/8 in.), diameters vary.

Provenance:
Private Collection.
Acquired on the art market, late 20th century.

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